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		<header>
			<h1>Really not that bad</h1>
			<p>Day 01488: <time>Wednesday, 2019 April 03</time></p>
		</header>
<img src="/img/CC_BY-SA_4.0/y.st./weblog/2019/04/03.jpg" alt="The ceiling of a white waiting room" class="framed-centred-image" width="649" height="480"/>
<section id="video">
	<h2>Video</h2>
	<p>
		Apparently, my camera can shoot video as well as take basic photographs.
		I found the thing was behaving oddly when I tried to take pictures, and when I realised what it was actually doing, I found it was actually shooting short videos, starting and stopping the clips as I tried to snap each photo.
		It seems to record audio for the videos, too.
		I wasn&apos;t even aware the thing had a microphone.
	</p>
	<p>
		It looks like I failed to properly check that the time was set correctly again though.
		This time, the clock was fast instead of slow.
	</p>
</section>
<section id="hair">
	<h2>Hair removal</h2>
	<p>
		I wasn&apos;t the first appointment today, so while the doctor treated another patient, they had me fill out some initial paperwork.
		I left the date of birth field blank.
		They don&apos;t need that information.
		I thought they&apos;d notice and ask me about it, and I was prepared to respond.
		They didn&apos;t seem to notice though.
		I also left the occupation field blank.
		They don&apos;t need to know that either, and besides, it&apos;s a bit embarrassing that I&apos;m a fast food employee.
		I don&apos;t think they noticed that that field was left blank, but the answer still came up in conversation.
	</p>
	<p>
		They had me lay down on the ... I guess you&apos;d call it an operating table - then had me press an ice pack to my face while they readied their tools just out of sight.
		I expected it to be a lot colder than it was.
		They told me that the harder I pressed it into my face, the less painful the treatment would be.
		With how mild the chill was, I was able to press it full force to my face with ease.
		They soon put special coverings over my eyes, which were so good at blocking the light that with my eyes open, it felt like my eyes were both fully open and fully closed.
		It felt a bit odd.
		They handed me a &quot;stress ball&quot;, which I quickly identified as a regular tennis ball from the pattern of the fuzz and paint I could feel on the ball&apos;s surface.
		It seemed to have less air or something than normal though, as it could easily be squished a bit.
	</p>
	<p>
		With the covers over my eyes, they shifted the ice pack to my left side and put ultrasound jelly on my right side.
		Then they started their work.
		They hit me with a few test pulses so I&apos;d no what to expect, and I could barely feel it.
		I could feel the solid matter of the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr> machine pressed up against my face, but I could barely feel the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr>.
		It really wasn&apos;t as bad as I&apos;d feared.
		I was told by some sources that it&apos;s feel like painfully getting hit by a rubber band, while other sources said it&apos;d hurt quite a lot worse.
		There was no pain though.
		At least, not at first.
		I found that the longer the treatment went on, the more it hurt.
		It felt like cutting myself repeatedly with a razor.
		I wanted to blame the accumulated effect of the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr> on my skin, but it couldn&apos;t have been that.
		As they did my right side, it got progressively more painful.
		But when they moved on to my left side, which hadn&apos;t even been touched by the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr> until then, the higher level of pain was there right away.
		I was confused (though silent) about this at first, though now as I write this, I think the doctor may have turned the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr> up a bit.
	</p>
	<p>
		During the procedure, I could see the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr> flash red a few times, even through the covers, which I mentioned.
		The doctor said I should close my eyes.
		That changed nothing though.
		I still saw the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr> occasionally.
		It was of course still red, as everything looks red through the blood in one&apos;s eyelids.
		I didn&apos;t really use the tennis ball as a stress ball, but I noticed a couple times that my hand was locked up around it.
		The muscles in my hand had stiffened, but weren&apos;t squeezing the ball.
		I guess that was my body&apos;s reaction to the mild pain.
	</p>
	<p>
		The doctor said I did exceptionally well.
		Part of that&apos;s just who I am.
		I don&apos;t complain about pain.
		It&apos;s one of the more-positive traits I inherited from Summer.
		But another part is that the pain I did feel, while it did get progressively worse to the point I started flinching slightly, was much milder than it could have been.
		And the pain completely went away when the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr> was no longer applied.
		It was nothing.
		They said they use the factory-recommended settings for everyone&apos;s first appointment, and they gage your reactions to determine better settings for next time.
		They said next time, they&apos;ll turn the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr> way up.
		I&apos;m taking that to mean the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr> will hurt more, but will also be more effective.
		Bring it on.
		I want this hair gone.
		It&apos;s because they said they&apos;ll turn the <abbr title="light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation">laser</abbr> up next time though that I think they may have already turned it up a little this time.
	</p>
	<p>
		I brought a coupon from the company&apos;s website for 25% off, but apparently, the price quoted to me was already about 34% off the regular price.
		The doctor seemed willing to apply the 25% off of the already-discounted 33% off price, which would have been a total of just over 50% off, but they seemed a bit uneasy about it.
		So I told them not to worry about it.
		I was comfortable with the $200 <abbr title="United States Dollars">USD</abbr> bill and didn&apos;t want to cause any problems.
		I also set up an appointment for next month.
		Apparently this time, they&apos;re going to send an email reminder.
		Last time, they didn&apos;t have me email address.
		Not that I need the reminder though, as I keep my planner in my wallet, put the date and time in there, and copy all dates and times only my whiteboard calendar when the month comes.
		I usually check the calendar before I go to bed, so I should have an alarm set to wake me that morning, which would remind me right away that something was going on if I did by some off chance forget.
	</p>
	<p>
		The doctor mentioned the nice weather today.
		I used that as a segue to mention that I&apos;d biked there.
		Just in case it mattered.
		The paperwork I was given said I shouldn&apos;t exercise for twenty-four hours before the appointment.
		How do I even pull that off?
		I&apos;ve got to bike there, but also, I&apos;ve got to lift things at work.
		Walking around the workplace all night might be considered exercise too.
		The bike ride would be the most recent and relevant of the exercise though.
		The doctor didn&apos;t even bat an eye at that, so that doesn&apos;t seem to be a problem.
	</p>
</section>
<section id="vocal">
	<h2>Vocal</h2>
	<p>
		Okay, so my hair problem is taken care of.
		I mean, it&apos;s not over and done with, but the main issue for me was finding time to research hair removal solutions, not actually making it to appointments.
		Appointments can happen while school is in session.
		That&apos;s no big deal.
	</p>
	<p>
		So now, my next step is to deal with my voice.
		I need to find a vocal coach to help me fix my voice, and I&apos;ve got less than a week to do it.
		If I fail, and I&apos;m thinking I will, I&apos;ll need to wait until the coming term ends to find the time to try further.
		It&apos;s going to get done, it&apos;s only a matter of when, but the sooner the better.
	</p>
</section>
<section id="religion">
	<h2>Religion</h2>
	<p>
		The missionaries didn&apos;t make their appointment today.
		That was frustrating.
		As I was heading out to work, I checked my email and found the missionaries had written telling me they were going to be late and asking to reschedule for tomorrow.
		I guess next time, I should check my email if they seem to be late.
	</p>
</section>
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